ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
The sold-out Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains confirmed as the closing race of the 2026 Formula 1 season, keeping Yas Marina Circuit at the centre of the championship's final weekend on December 6.
"For us today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed. By the way, they are already sold out," Stefano Domenicali, F1 President and Chief Executive, told reporters on Wednesday.
A complete sell-out of tickets months before the race extends a run of record demand for the Abu Dhabi season finale.
The 2025 edition drew a record 339,000 people across race week, up 7% from 317,000 in 2024, while 231,000 spectators travelled from abroad and accounted for 68% of attendance.
Ethara, which organises the event, was later named Formula 1 Promoter of the Year after delivering what the award described as the best overall event of the 2025 season.
That international audience gives the Grand Prix a reach beyond the grandstands, bringing visitors into hotels, restaurants, attractions, and entertainment venues across Yas Island and the wider emirate.
Attendee spending connected to the 2023 race generated over Dh1.16 billion for Abu Dhabi's economy, while the event's ticket programme sent 19,000 race-week visitors to Yas Island's theme parks and 5,500 to Louvre Abu Dhabi that year.
The 2026 programme again connects circuit activities with a wide set of attractions and offers across Yas Island. Grand Prix ticket holders receive complimentary access to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld, giving travelling fans several reasons to extend their time in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi's Title-deciding Stage
The official Formula 1 calendar currently places Abu Dhabi as the 23rd and final round of the season, with practice beginning on December 4, qualifying on December 5 and the race starting at 5 pm local time on December 6.
Drivers will complete 58 laps of the 5.281km Yas Marina Circuit, which has hosted the Grand Prix since 2009.
The 2025 finale brought three drivers to Abu Dhabi with a chance of winning the championship, the first three-way title decider in 15 years, with Lando Norris leading Max Verstappen by 12 points and Oscar Piastri by 16.
Verstappen won the race and Piastri finished second, leaving Norris to secure the third place he needed for his first world championship. The title was decided by two points, after Norris faced pressure from Charles Leclerc and a wheel-to-wheel contest with Yuki Tsunoda during the race.
The 2026 campaign has already produced five different winners in its opening 11 rounds, while Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Norris have won the three most recent races in Britain, Belgium and Hungary.
Antonelli leads the championship after Hungary, with another 11 rounds scheduled before the field reaches Yas Marina.
Last year's two-point finish showed how quickly the championship can tighten on the way to Abu Dhabi, giving the 2026 title fight ample room to build towards another dramatic finale under the Yas Marina Circuit lights on December 6.